KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia rebounded in early trading today as investors took the cue from the improved performance of the regional bourses yesterday, dealers said.
Thirty-four minutes after trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM LCI) rose 8.72 points to 1,793.48, after opening 3.08 points higher at 1,787.84.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said regional equities were mostly up yesterday when the local bourse was closed for the Eid al-Adha public holiday yesterday.
The biggest gainers were Taiwan (1.1 per cent increase), South Korea (one per cent increase) and Thailand (0.9 per cent increase).
"Nevertheless, there may be limited catching-up effects on the Malaysian bourse today. Essentially, investors are still waiting for American lawmakers to resolve the US debt ceiling impasse and restore government operations.
"This has caused key equity indices on Wall Street to slip between 0.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent overnight," said HwangDBS in a research note.
The research firm said external uncertainties are expected to pile pressure on Malaysian equities with its benchmark index likely to back off from the immediate resistance hurdle of 1,785 ahead.
On the local scoreboard, the Finance Index surged 66.17 points to 16,751.15, the Plantation Index gained 15.28 points to 8,372.62 and the Industrial Index added 4.58 points to 3,060.33.
The FBM Emas Index jumped 52.39 points to 12,470.58, the FBM100 Index was 52.141 points to 12,203.36, the FBM Ace increased 31.55 points to 5,494.66 and the FBM 70 advanced 30.811 points to 14,197.12.
Gainers led losers by 212 to 91, with 199 counters unchanged, 1,107 untraded and 15 others suspended.
Volume amounted to 195.652 million shares worth RM176.871 million.
Among actives, Hubline added half a sen to 6.5 sen, Media Shoppe was unchanged at nine sen while Cliq Energy eased half sen to 41.5 sen.
Heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.02, while Axiata and CIMB rose four sen each to RM6.94 and RM7.52, respectively. — Bernama
